Virgin Australia

✅ Verified Review | Flew from Sydney to Christchurch. There were problems even before we boarded. We were supposed to board at 7:15p.m. but the plane hadn't even arrived at the gate. Communication between Virgin Australia and customers were laughable. We were not told of any delays until we were told it was time to board. It seems that to prevent negative advertising, the company did not use Sydney airport's PA system for fear of other travellers hearing and instead told us the delay on the aircraft. What is the use of mentioning a delayed boarding after the passengers have already boarded? As if the delay wasn't enough, the flight attendants were frustrated throughout the journey. They pushed the drink trolley around so fast that I did not have time to even flag them down for a cup of water! When we landed, the flight attendant on the microphone told us in a threatening manner that as customs shuts down their computers at 3am, we would need to hurry as we only had 25 minutes to disembark, go through border security and leave the airport. The way she was speaking, it was as if it was our fault the flight was delayed in the first place. My first flight with Virgin Australia was a bad one and I will not fly them again - unless their tickets are as cheap as this flight.

✅ Verified Review | Sydney to Perth. The queue for bag drop at Sydney airport is quite long, but the friendliness of the check-in staff made up for it. The seat is comfortable and has a nice IFE screen, but choice of entertainment might be a little less than one may expect but allows for binge watching. The meal was very tasty, though I noticed the portion is smaller than it used to be. However, staff later brought some snacks (muffins if I recall) along so that made up for a still hungry stomach. The pilot's announcements were informative and humorous, giving us helpful information on the initial departure delay and during in-flight. Considering how much I paid for this ticket, this was excellent value for money and I would recommend flying with them.

Melbourne to Brisbane. On time boarding and push back. Drinks and light refreshments (9pm flight) were available shortly after take off. My partner was ill earlier in the day and fainted on the flight when walking down the aisle. The calm, professional assistance from the cabin crew was outstanding, genuinely caring and supportive. The pilot who spoke to us after everyone had disembarked was quite insensitive and made a rude comment about the risk my partner posed by boarding the flight after feeling unwell during the the day. He made us both feel extremely guilty, saying that they almost diverted to Sydney, which would have cost the airline a lot of money in fines. Whilst I understand the seriousness of what happened and the implications redirecting the plane would have on the passengers, crew and airline, I felt that it was extremely out of place for the pilot to make that comment. No one wakes up and decides to be sick, or faint on a plane. If my partner had felt as unwell as he did in the morning, he would not have boarded the plane. He however felt fine and just wanted to get back home. There was no sympathy, concern or compassion shown by that pilot. We disembarked feeling very guilty, but grateful to have been taken care of by such wonderful flight attendants. Will I continue to exclusively fly Virgin domestically and their affiliated partners internationally? Yes, however I don't rate them as highly anymore after this incident with the pilot.

Virgin Australia for me has the best in flight comfort. Purchased food from the on board menu and it was superb. Check in was effortless. The airport crew were pretty friendly. It was my first time to travel with Virgin Australia and I was so happy with the way how the staff treated me. From the ground, to the sky, my expectations were met.

✅ Verified Review | Brisbane to Sydney. First time I have flown Virgin Australia in a number of years and it has improved. Seat and seat pitch is fine for the domestic flight and the new included services such as baggage, snack and BOD entertainment is very nice. Self check-in is quick, bag drop line is long but moved quickly. Boarding was fast using both the rear stairs and the front air-bridge. Cabin service was efficient and friendly. Overall a good flight there and back.

VA761, Melbourne to Gold Coast on 2 September. Was originally booked on a 19.00 hour flight back to Brisbane. On check in me and my travelling companions were told flight cancelled and to wait to be rebooked. Waited 40 minutes and allocated this flight which was only going to Gold Coast leaving 20.10pm. Before departure negotiated a taxi fare from Gold Coast to South Brisbane which Virgin agreed to pay for our group. Plane departed about 25 minutes late. On arrival at Gold Coast picked up taxi voucher at service desk for cab to south Brisbane. Finally arrived home at 1am, would have been later if not been provided with Taxi.

✅ Verified Review | It is almost 1 hour from Melbourne to Sydney - so this is really not much more than a nice bus trip with Virgin Australia. Thankfully my family member travels a lot more than I do for work so he invited me to join him at the Lounge. It made the trip a lot more pleasant. The aircraft itself was a 10 year old B737-800 that appeared to be in fair condition. I sat in row 3 where there is sufficient legroom for a tall bloke like me, which was comfortable. The seats a little skinny but cannot fault the legroom. It was a nice smooth unremarkable flight where the cabin crew were friendly and hospitable and offered me a coffee and a muesli bar. We had already filled up on pancakes in the lounge. IFE worked great on my tablet without lag and had excellent map of flight. Really enjoyed watching that.

✅ Verified Review | Wellington to Brisbane. Very dissatisfied with check-in and ticketing. Check-in staff gave incorrect information on opening time for departure gates. Ticketing for this airport should inform customer prior to ticket purchase that they will not be able to access business class lounge, as the airport does not open at all until 2 hours before flights. This should be outlined on ticket. Misleading use of business class conditions for the customer as not all perks are able to be used. Should be due a refund of difference as this is one of the reasons people purchase business class. Very disappointing.

Gold Coast to Melbourne with Virgin Australia. This airline is very similar to Ryanair in Europe except they don't have low fares. Fares are priced at a premium, seats are jammed in, there is no onboard WiFi or televisions. Lunch was 3 crackers, chunk of cheese and either tea / coffee or water - soft drinks extra and in fact anything of flavour or substance was extra. They try sell this airline as being similar or competition to Qantas but there is no way this is true. They used to have live satellite tv on board but I guess cost cutting put an end to this - shocker of an airline.

✅ Verified Review | Melbourne - Sydney - Melbourne. Check in fast. Departed on time. Full flight. A quick snack served. However quality and quantity left much to be desired. Virgin Australia crew standards have dropped a lot over the years. Both flights offered VA streaming entertainment however due to some glitches could not be used. Arrived on time at destination. Overall good flight for a short hop.